YuGiOh: A Feudal Fairytale
by Grand Mage Katsuya
Summary: Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or Yu-Gi-Oh. During a field trip to the Higura Temple, Ryou Bakura falls down the Bone-Eater's Well. Full summery inside. On Hold For School.
1. Chapter 1

Synopsis: On a trip to the Higura Shrine as a class field trip, Ryou Bakura falls into the Bone-Eater's Well in an attempt to save Kagome from 'falling' in. Now trapped in the Feudal Era of Japan AND mistaken for Sesshomaru's son and heir by every villager in the western lands, Ryou must find a shard of the Jewel of Four Souls in hopes of returning to his own time before Sesshomaru learns what's going on and goes to hunt down our favorite white-haired haikari.  
  
Chapter 1: Into the Sacred Well

* * *

Ryou yawned rather loudly in complete and total boardness as Domino High's school bus cruised down the highway. Today was Field Trip Day, and his class was going to visit some old temple with stupid old landmarks, shrouded in some stupid old legends. In Ryou's case, he had no care for Japanese history. It was hard enough remembering British, co-in sided with American, and not to mention, Egyptian history.  
  
To add to the pointlessness of the trip, his entire class was garbed in traditional Japanese kimonos. Ryou's had a faded white shirt and heavily blue under shirt and pants.  
  
To sum it up, Ryou felt pretty disgusted. But, then again, he had felt disgusted this entire morning. He took his routine bus ride to Yugi's house where he could get some breakfast while his dad was off on another archeological adventure without him. Next, he had to last ten minutes of Joey and Tristan's jokes about the stupid kimono as he waited for the bus to take him to Domino High. And finally, after he finished throwing up Solomon Motou's Breakfast Pancake Surprise, he proceeded to join the rest of his history class to wait for the bus.  
  
Looking out the window of said bus, Ryou could see the temple they were headed to. It was a collection of new museum buildings, storage sheds, and the house that the people who owned the temple lived in. All the buildings were ancient Japanese style, white walls with green tiled roofs with the corners of the buildings being jutted out and curled.  
  
The Higure Temple rested on raised ground which made it about a couple stories higher then the actual street. The layout of the museum was the only thing he had remembered about the place, since there had been a fire there about six months back. The fire, as well as the sudden disappearance of several people, made the evening news.  
  
The buildings of the museum slowly disappeared behind him as the bus neared the freeway exit that would lead them to the temple. A pot hole in the road shook the bus, catching Ryou off guard, and sending several unwary passengers falling out of their seats. Ryou, being one of the people who got thrown around, got up slowly from the floor of the bus as his teacher, Mr. Yoshiro, muttered something about stupid political leaders and their laziness.  
  
As Ryou continued to lift himself off the floor, he noticed that his chest was lighter then it used to be. He padded a few times at his chest before searching his undershirt. His Millennium Ring was missing! Ryou bent over and franticly searched the floor for his Ancient Egyptian artifact.  
  
Ryou's eyes met with a pair of formal shoes standing right in front of him. He followed them up to the face of Mr. Yoshiro who was looking down at the white haired boy.  
  
"Is this yours?" Ryou's teacher asked. Mr. Yoshiro pulled out the Millennium Ring, complete with the leather strap, from behind his back. Ryou retook the pendant, slipped it over his head, and tucked to back into his kimono.  
  
Mr. Yoshiro took a seat next to Ryou while the bus rolled through the small street traffic. "Listen Ryou, I know how much you like your pendant, so next time, try to keep better track of it." Mr. Yoshiro smiled.  
  
"Thank you." Ryou smiled before looking back out the window. His highest dread, at the moment, was coming true. The bus passed another block and the Higure Temple was coming closer.  
  
"Listen Ryou, I know how much you hate doing Japanese history-" Mr. Yoshiro commented.  
  
"Actually," Ryou interrupted, "I don't really hate history class, it's just, there's a lot of information to keep track of."  
  
"True. You know a very large extent of American and British history. Not to mention the fantastic report on Egyptian history you did last semester. But, just for today, could you try to pay attention?  
  
"I know how much you like myths and legends about dark sorcerers and terrifying monsters like the ones you talked about in your Egyptian report; in fact, that's what most of the legends at the museum are about."  
  
Ryou thought for a moment. His teacher was commenting him on knowing so much history and was hoping that he would enjoy the myths and legends that the temple had to offer. It would rack his brain and/or give him sever migraine headaches for trying to remember all of the information that he would possibly learn from the trip, but that's what aspirin was for, wasn't it? Not only that, Mr. Yoshiro said there was a test, about the myths and legends of the temple, next week.  
  
Who knows? Maybe he'd actually ace this test.  
  
"I'll see what I can do." Ryou replied.  
  
Back outside the transit bus, the buildings receded behind him and the Higure Temple drew nearer. Since parking wasn't allowed in front of the entrance, the bus stopped where it was, half a block away from the main entrance. A tall wood archway, painted red and chipped with age, sported the same Feudal Era architecture as the rest of the buildings.  
  
One by one, the kids in Ryou's class filed out of the bus and into the streets. A small group of kids were giddy with excitement at the field trip, two girls talked about a third girl's boyfriend, and Ryou pressed play.  
  
All the kimonos that the kids wore that day had long pockets in the sleeves. Ryou had taken advantage of the large pocket and stuffed his CD player into the right side pocket. This museum trip was the perfect time to listen to his psychiatric enforced recordings of waterfalls, rain, and other natural sounds to help reduce his sudden mood swings. Fat lotta good it'd do.  
  
Mr. Yoshiro led a few kids around the campus, reading a few of the stories behind each of the buildings. Ryou, on the other hand, was having a fair enough time hanging out beneath a tall tree that had strands of white paper diamonds hanging from the trunk.  
  
His mind paying half attention to the sounds he was listening to and the other half-paying attention to what he was 'reading' from a sign by the old tree. It said that the tree had belonged to some dog. The dog had been sealed to the tree by some priestess to protect her village; the priestess died soon after. La-de-frickn'-da.  
  
Totally forgetting about the tree's story a few minutes after, Ryou noticed that less and less of the kids in Ryou's class were wandering around. The white haired boy pressed pause on his CD player, before moving from the shade of the tree and looked around for the rest of his class.  
  
Constant chatter came from one of the buildings followed by Mr. Yoshiro's voice telling everyone to quiet down. Faintly hearing it from beyond the door that lead to the inside of the building, he heard that the class was going to watch a movie about some of the legends at the temple. Ryou decided to ditch the movie and go back to his spot under the huge tree.  
  
Over near the house where the owners of the temple lived, Ryou couldn't help but overhear a conversation between some girl and what looked like her boyfriend.  
  
"I told you, Inuyasha. If I'm to be spending more time hunting shards, I'll need to bring a few things there for my comfort. And I though that my stereo would be the first of many things that I'd bring."  
  
The girl looked to be about a ninth grader, one grade above Ryou's, with long black hair, brown eyes, and peach skin. She was wearing a Sailor Fuku outfit: a green mini skirt and a white long sleeved shirt with green and white stripped lapels.  
  
"But why do I have to carry it? You are fully capable of carrying your own stupid 'stereo' yourself. What the heck is it, anyway?"  
  
The 'boyfriend' had long white hair with a few spikes, amber eyes, and a more tanned skin color then the girl's. He wore a large, baggy red kimono with a sheathed sword, probably a traditional Japanese katana, strapped by his waist.  
  
"Well, this stereo with revolutionize the way you listen to music. You place one of my many CDs in the slot at the top and sound comes out of the large black boxes called speakers. But enough of that, Miroku, Shippo and Sango will be worried about us if we linger too long."  
  
"Fine, but I'm going first. The less I spend here, the better."  
  
Ryou could hardly bring himself to forgetting the conversation and returning to his music. First, the guy was as dumb as a rock for not knowing what a CD player was. And second, he guessed that the rest of the tour of the temple was going to be boring, so he'd spy on the two just for the heck of it.  
  
Because Ryou had once been possessed by an Ancient Egyptian thief, he had come to learn good thieving techniques. Being able to sneak around without getting caught was Thieving 101. Ryou mentally cringed at the thought of his yami, Bakura, teaching a classroom full of students the basics of being a tomb robber. Ryou silently ran from behind one building to the next, keeping an eye on the two at all times.  
  
The girl quickly and quietly opened the door that lead into the shrine's well house. The boy, Inuyasha, from what the girl had called him, gracefully took a leap into the building. No crashing sounds were heard, so the guy must have landed without breaking the equipment. The girl stood outside the well house for a second or two, watching for anyone who could be spying.  
  
No spy in Ancient Egypt could stop Ryou's yami from tomb robbing ("Except maybe Yami." Ryou thought.), and the girl didn't either. Ryou had easily slipped past her gaze and into the well house.  
  
He looked around. It seemed like just an empty building. A wood staircase led down to a well surrounded by wood planks. The dirt floor had some feet prints on it, but none to recent. Not only that, Inuyasha was no where to be found. The entire well house was visible from where he was standing, so he chose to scope out the only remaining place.  
  
The well.  
  
Ryou took a quick glance down the well. Nothing but an endless black abyss.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Ryou spun around quickly to see the girl had caught him. She walked down the ramp and glared into his eyes. "This building is off limits."  
  
"Then what are you doing in here?" Ryou retorted.  
  
"That's none of your business, so get out of here!" The girl yelled in his face before pushing him out of the way and continued towards the well.  
  
"Wait! You're going to fall down the well!" Ryou warned.  
  
He grabbed onto the girl's sleeve, before she could jump in. The girl didn't seem fazed by it, and jumped in anyway. The white haired haikari slipped in the dirt floor as he tried to haul her back up. His loss of balance sent the two of them falling into the well.

* * *

Xero: This is the end of Chapter 1. Review if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions. Ja Ne! 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: A Voyage to the Past

* * *

Ryou Bakura groaned at the extreme cramps that seemed to pulsate through his body. Several of the pains came from his side as well as parts of his left arm. His right knee was feeling a bit locked up and immovable. But despite his numerous aches and pains, they didn't bother him like they were supposed to; and that scared him. It only took a few seconds before a similar scenario formed from random memories.  
  
The white haired teen sprung up from his lying position. It almost felt like he was lying on a hard wood floor. Several blankets felt like they were falling off from their laying place on his chest as tumble to a stop at his lap.  
  
"Bakura, what did you steal this time?!" Ryou never even wasted the time to see if his darker half was listening. He had yelled loud enough and didn't care if his neighbors heard him or not. The only thing that followed his sudden outburst was total and utter silence.  
  
It took another few second for a second random memory to materialize in his sub-conscious. It had only been a week ago, after the end of the Battle City tournament, Yugi's darker half: Atemu, or Yami as he preferred to call himself, had attempted to banish Ryou's darker half to the Shadow Realm once more. Since then, Bakura the Tomb Robber had yet to come back.  
  
Ryou Bakura gulped and dared to open just one of his eyes to see who he had yelled at. When his eyes got adjusted to only the light of a small fire near midnight, he noticed that three people, situated around the said fire, had frozen while attempting to eat a dinner of Udon Noodles.  
  
The first of the group was an elderly lady. She had long white hair that was tied back in a small ponytail. She wore a black eye patch over her right eye and a red and white kimono. Even though the people of Japan normally had dark tan skin color, the old woman had pale tan skin and green eyes.  
  
After her was a smaller person, about the size and looking the age of a five year old child. He had a kimono sporting several shades of blue. On the shirt part of his kimono were numerous light blue pictures of leaves. A small blue ribbon kept the child's brown hair back in a ponytail, so as not to impede his view. Much like the elder woman, the child had pale tanned skin and green eyes.  
  
The elder woman and the small child could have easily passed as grandmother and grandchild.  
  
The last of the small group surrounding the fire was a man about twenty years of age. He had normal black Japanese hair, tied back in a ponytail ("Were ponytails some kind of new fashion trend?" Ryou mentally asked himself.), and the seemingly normal pale tan skin as the other two people.  
  
The twenty-or-so year old man was garbed in blue robes that Ryou could have sworn he saw people wearing at the Japanese Medieval fair two days ago. Purple sashes accented the blue color of the robe. What puzzled Ryou the most was, on the man's right hand was a similar purple sash as on the man's robe and light blue prayer beads were wrapped tightly around the man's wrist and palm. Lying strangely close to the middle aged man was a wood staff with a ring at the top and numerous smaller rings looped into the bigger one. He could have sworn he saw the same type of staff in the hands of some Duel Monster.  
  
After a few second of the awkward silence, Ryou sweat dropped, giving a stupid grin and an embarrassed look.  
  
"S-Sorry." Ryou stuttered. "I thought you were someone else." Ryou tried a fake laugh to see if the others would at least stop staring at him strangely.  
  
The old woman set her bowl down next to the fire and turned her full attention to Ryou. "Be ye not troubled about disrupting our meal with ye's awkward outburst. It is only reassuring to see that ye are awake. My name is Kaede, the child next to me is Shippo, and the young man across from me is Miroku."  
  
'Shippo and Miroku? Where have I heard those names before?' Ryou thought. "Um, thank you?"  
  
"Your gratitude is not required," Miroku commented. "Nursing your wounds was the least we could do for someone who was not normally supposed to pass through the well."  
  
"'Pass through'?" Ryou wondered. "What are you talking about?"  
  
Kaede took a drink of something that smelled like Sake before continuing the explanation that Miroku started. "At first, Kagome did not believe it either, the power of the Bone-Eater's well. In a nutshell, to pass through the well means to pass from one world to the next; more specifically, from your Japanese Modern Era to our Japanese Feudal Era."  
  
Ryou Bakura just stared blankly at the group of three people in front of him. Was he really in the Feudal Era of Japan? If so, he was screwed. For never learning anything in his social studies classes, he would not know what to expect 500 years prior to the time period he was used to, or how to deal with any such problems he faced. But these people seemed nice enough and willing out help him.  
  
"Hey mister, are you okay?" Shippo asked Ryou. "You don't seem at all fazed by what Kaede just told you, not like what Kagome did when she found out. From what Kaede told me, Kagome was freaked out about it for a few days."  
  
Ryou narrowed his eyes. "I've had worse."  
  
The monk, Miroku, finished sipping his cup of herbal tea before standing up, taking the funny looking staff with him. "Kaede, since you no longer need my medical services to treat the young child, I must make haste in order to catch up with Kagome and the others." In just a short few seconds, Miroku's foot prints couldn't be heard anymore.  
  
"Young one, I believe first impressions warrant introduction." Kaede stated.  
  
"What?" Ryou raised an eyebrow, trying to figure out what the old woman just said. "Oh, my name's Ryou Bakura."  
  
"Which one is it?" Shippo asked flatly.  
  
"True, young Shippo." Kaede agreed. "A person having two names is quite unusual. Unless ye is a thief and one of the two names is an alias." Ryou shuddered as Kaede gave him a cold stare.  
  
"Oh, I'm no thief. I'm just known by both names." Ryou quickly covered. He mentally slapped himself for forgetting that it was common for people in most countries to not have a last name. "But most call me Ryou."  
  
'I'm so screwed!' Ryou mentally yelled at himself. 'I'm stuck in the Feudal Era of Japan and I don't know a thing about Japanese history. I knew falling asleep in class all those times was going to get myself in trouble, but I never imagined it to be this big of trouble!  
  
'Ok, settle down. All I have to do is find a way to get back to my time ('Damn that felt weird saying.') and make up some excuse as to why I disappeared. Shouldn't be too hard. I hope.'

* * *

It was the next day and the warm sun was beating down on a small group of travelers, just outside of the boarders to the Western Lands. After all of the traps and sudden confrontations with almost certain death, each member of the quartet was expecting a nice, calm day of traveling.  
  
Then again, when a super evil spider hanyou, bent on becoming a full fledged demon and that would spare no expense to kill you, 'nice, calm day' was the ultimate oxymoron.  
  
Out of the small group, Kagome had a lot to deal with. Since the group's most recent encounter with the half brother of Inuyasha, Sesshomaru, Inuyasha had been slaving over his sword, the Tetsusaiga, in order to perfect the Wind Scar attack. So far, he'd selectively cut down enough forests to give Kaede's village enough wood to repair their village several times over.  
  
Not only that, it was becoming harder and harder to find shards of the Shikon Jewel, since Kikyou had stolen half of them from Kagome while Naraku had an unknown number of shards. It appealed to Kagome, with Kikyou have half, Koga having two shards in his legs, Kohaku having one in his back, and Naraku having his collection, most likely, all of the shards had been accounted for, except maybe one or two shards that still remained at large.  
  
Kagome groaned. Ever since her painful fall down the well with the mysterious boy from her time, excessive thinking was giving her extreme headaches. She needed to get her mind off of her problems.  
  
"Miroku," Sango, the sole survivor of a clan of demon exterminators, decided to break the silence. "How was the boy Kagome brought with her? When we fished him out of the well, he had numerous wounds. Was he able to make a stable recovery?"  
  
'Thanks, Sango.' Kagome said mentally. 'Just the thing I need to get my mind off my headache.'  
  
"As far as I know, he's recovering fine. Some small cuts and bruises are the-Gah!" The infamous monk, Miroku dropped to the ground clutching his stomach. Never in his entire life had he felt such a rush of encroaching darkness.  
  
"Miroku!" Kagome dropped her bike in the middle of the trail to assist Sango, who had already come to Miroku's aid. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"  
  
"Such darkness." Miroku now began to sweat. Whatever was giving off such a powerful pulse of darkness it frightened him to no end. It seems as though the darkness that he was sensing was feeding off his fear; allowing it to grow. Just as quickly as the darkness had come, it subsided and disappeared into nothingness. Miroku remained kneeling on the ground, catching his breath  
  
All the while, Inuyasha had been searching the immediate area for any sign of an attacker. His hand gripped the hilt of the Tetsusaiga, ready to call upon its power if needed. His dog-like ears twitched as he heard the rapid footfalls of someone approaching. It was a bit fast for a human, but no where near the running speed of a demon. Inuyasha released his grip of the Tetsusaiga before alerting the other three to their approaching guest.  
  
"Someone's coming?" Sango asked. The Demon Exterminator shot a glance down the path they had just come. About a hundred meters or so away from their current position, a young boy with short white hair and a white and blue kimono was running down the path. "I wonder who that is."  
  
Both Kagome, who was helping Miroku stand, and Miroku looked down the path as well to see the same boy. "Wait, that's the boy from Kagome's time."

* * *

Ryou could see them dead ahead. Against the wishes of both Kaede and the fox demon: Shippo, Ryou had left the quiet little village in search of Miroku. He never told anyone why he left and no one dared to question him. What was for certain was that whatever Ryou wanted with Miroku, it wasn't going to be pretty. Ryou would make sure of that.  
  
After the fifth or so mile of running in order to catch up with the group Miroku was traveling in, he began to feel himself getting tired. It was the fact that Ryou was going to make Miroku pay for what he did that made him decide to use a bit of his inherited Shadow Magic to give him a large boost of speed. The sensation of running, powered by the Shadow Realm, was actually quite interesting.  
  
It sure beat the crud out of Ryou's routine of drinking lots of energy drinks before physical fitness tests back at Domino High.  
  
"Give me back my Millennium Ring!" Ryou jumped at Miroku, tackling the monk. The sheer force of the tackle sent the two flying a few feet backwards before colliding with the ground.

* * *

Xero: This is the end of Chapter 2. Thanks to all my fans that have been faithful to me, your patients has not gone to waist. Review if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions. Ja Ne! 


	3. Chapter 3

* * *

Chapter 3: Revelation of the Millennium Ring and the Spies of a Vengeful Shadow

* * *

He was motionless, still in the darkness. It was a figure that struck certain destruction to whoever got on his bad side. The shadows that surrounded him were bent, daring not to touch him in fear of such a dark power he possessed. He sat upon a thrown of cast-iron, precious metals, and the finest lumbar in all the land. Nothing was too good for him. He was a collector of sorts, collecting powerful weapons of war, priceless pieces of art, as well as some others that perked his interest.  
  
But in his mind, a new collection was forming. In the shadows, the figure contemplated the idea; and smiled. To combat the foolish rulers of the three other lands, the figure in the shadows would begin a collection of elite fighters to serve him. But there would be no time to waste on combat training or weapon schooling, he needed candidates who were already well into the art of war.  
  
And he wouldn't have to do any of the searching himself. Laying on the right armrest of the elaborate thrown was a small, simple mirror. The round piece of glass was framed by a sheet of metal with a dragon, molded into the back. He picked up the mirror by the sides and gazed into the grey swirling clouds where his reflection should have been, had it been a normal mirror.  
  
"The creature, Naraku, has spawned a girl from his own flesh. This girl, Kanna was her name, possessed a mirror of great power: able to steal souls and see things no other being could see. Finally, such a mirror she has is now in my possession. Mirror:" he commanded, the grey clouds in the mirror began to swirl around, before collecting on the sides of the mirror. "Show me people, whose power is strong enough to become a warrior for me."  
  
The clouds in the mirror dissipated fully before an image could form. It was fuzzy at first, but it focused into a picture of a man, he was garbed in a red kimono of fine furs, and threads. The man had golden eyes, the sign of a demon. The shadow was beginning to become interested in who the figure in the still focusing mirror was. The more it cleared up, the more he could make out how long the man's pearly white hair was, it fell down to his waist.  
  
The shadow growled in unbridled hatred as the image was now finally clear. There in the mirror was that worthless half-demon, Inuyasha. That half- breed was probably the bane of his life and not even worth his time. The mirror seemed to sense his anger and disapproval before quickly changing the image.  
  
The mirror silently hoped that it's now master would be happy with what it showed. The requirement for the people it found where tough to come by and only two people had fit the description. The first was obviously disapproved by its' master, so hopefully, the second one would change the master's attitude and not decide to destroy it.  
  
The image in the mirror blurred out again while it formed a second image. The figure gazed into the mirror to see who else it had found. The image was that of, what he could currently make out, a young boy. Much like the image if Inuyasha, this child had white hair but it only passed his shoulders. The boy was garbed in a kimono of blue and white. The child had pale tan skin and eyes a vibrant clay, almost mud, brown.  
  
But the image dared not stop there, for there was another person in the picture. Though the second person was hardly in the image at all.  
  
"Interesting. Very interesting." The child was strong. Not strong enough to be a demon, but stronger then any normal human, and he knew why. There was some unknown force that gave the child strength. He could barely sense it, even with his highly acute senses, so he doubted that anyone else would pick up on it. "He's perfect. Strong, and undetectable to anyone else. Mirror:" he commanded again.  
  
The image in them mirror froze, waiting for its master to give it another order. "Where is this child?" The image in the mirror zoomed out to display a large over view of the entire country of Japan. One section glowed a red color, while a small blue dot near the bottom bar of the red glow blinked.  
  
"So, this boy resides near these Western Lands. Mirror: I am finished." The image in the mirror disappeared into the grey swirl of clouds. The figure set the mirror back down on the armrest of the thrown before standing up. "Servant!"  
  
Small footfalls could be heard in the shadow filled chamber. "Your servant is here, mi lord. What is your bidding?"  
  
"There is a certain human near the borders of the Western Lands, send forth my best spies to retrieve him. This mirror," The figure grabbed the mirror from the thrown armrest. "Shall show them the way."  
  
There were no small footfalls of the servant running to do its bidding, the small creature just stood there in the shadows as it held the mirror. The master had wanted the capture of a human? Why of all reasons a weakly human?  
  
The figure in the shadows growled at the smaller servant. "Make haste to your duty before I decide to rip you in half with my bare hands." The figure always liked giving death threats to his servants to make them work harder.  
  
But we all must remember, this figure was a collector. And a good collector never gave up on his prize and this child was defiantly a prize in the eyes of Lord Sesshomaru of the Western Lands.

* * *

"We now move into Round: 2 of this bizarre fight between the white haired boy: Ryou and the infamous monk: Miroku." Shippo the fox announced from the sidelines of the current fight. Kagome stood over the boy with a small first aid kit, wrapping the kitsune's head in a bandage. No one said hiding in Ryou's pocket was a good idea. "The beginning of the fight was a head- splitter as the white haired boy had Miroku pinned to the ground while dishing out a lot of punches but now that the boy's been thrown off Miroku, we now move into free-lance fighting."  
  
The four remaining travelers watched the painful, but a bit humorous sight of Ryou and Miroku in an all out fist fight. Ryou was constantly on the attack while Miroku leaned more to the defense, only attacking when he got an opening, which wasn't very often.  
  
Inuyasha and Shippo seemed to be really into the fight, Inuyasha cheering on Ryou rather then Miroku, while Shippo started to announce the fight like it was a sporting event. Kagome just sighed. 'What is it with guys and fights?' She'd ask herself mentally.  
  
All the while, Sango had been walking around the battlefield, picking up bits of things that fell out of their kimono's when they were hit. The demon slayer had already picked up 10,000 yen, some other strange currency, some of Miroku's talismans, a clear red tube with liquid inside it, a metal bracelet that made noises when you listened close, two pieces of dark glass with a strange metal that acted as a frame, a few bracelets of prayer beads, the list went on and on.  
  
It was only when the white haired boy kicked Miroku into a tree that she picked up a strange package; it was wrapped in about a dozen talismans. Sango also needed to smack Inuyasha with her boomerang for cheering so loud. The demon slayer easily removed the talismans, not caring about the other items, if there were anymore, that fell to the ground.  
  
Inside the cloth was a pure gold pendant. It was a ring with a triangle in the center with an eye decorating it. Five gold points dangled freely from perfectly aligned places along the ring. The entire piece of jewelry hung from a leather strap that was tightly wrapped around a hoop at the top of the ring. Where could Miroku have gotten such a beautiful pendant of gold?  
  
Sango strutted over to the two boys and Kagome, her eyes never leaving the mesmeric gaze of the eye on the gold pendant. "Kagome," she interrupted her friend's viewing of the fight. "Do you know what this is?" She showed the futuristic girl the gold amulet.  
  
"Wow! Is that pure gold?"  
  
Ryou's ear's perked at the words: 'pure gold'. But that fraction of a second he lost his focus, Miroku delivered a punch to his forehead. But it didn't seem like any ordinary punch. As soon as Ryou opened his eyes, his vision was blocked by a piece of white paper. He soon felt a sickening feeling in his gut. Ryou broke the fight and ran to the nearest bush where the boy gratefully emptied out the contents of his suddenly sick stomach.  
  
Whatever got him sick was worse then eating Yami's pancake breakfast, much less his grandfather, Solomon's, breakfasts.  
  
"With Ryou out because of a talisman's spell overpowering him: Miroku is the winner! But since this was a fist fight, is Miroku's victory a shallow one? We-" WHAP "-Hey! Kagome, Miroku hit me!"  
  
Miroku slumped against the tree he was kicked against while the white haired boy continued to thrown up behind a bush. He sighed, catching his breath  
  
"Hey Miroku," Inuyasha just loved ruining peoples time of peace didn't he? "What the hell is this?" Inuyasha held the gold pendant in front of Miroku's face.  
  
"That? I found it in the well after we fished out Ryou." Miroku replied.  
  
Kagome was the one to speak this time. "Yea? Well if you hadn't noticed, during you two's entire fight he kept asking for you to give back his Millennium Ring, or whatever it was called. You think by some chance THIS was what he meant?" Miroku sweat-dropped as Inuyasha, Kagome, Sango, and Shippo stared at him.  
  
WHAP  
  
"Idiot." Inuyasha muttered before leaping into a nearby tree to take a small nap while Ryou and Miroku tended to their burses.  
  
Kagome walked over to where Ryou was throwing up, and as quick to remove the talisman on his face. Ryou collapsed on the ground, ready at any moment to fall asleep and wake back up under the psychotic, yet strangely safe, watch of his yami. But that didn't happen. Kagome knelt by him and tapped him on the shoulder. "Is this yours?"  
  
She held up the Millennium Ring for Ryou to see. The boy greatly too back his pendant, wrapping the leather strap back around his neck. "Thanks."  
  
Sango sighed. "With enough of the wounds these two have, I think we've gone as far as we can today." It was the truth. The fight between the two had lasted a good half an hour and had robbed the day of all good traveling hours. The sun was low in the sky, it would be dark soon and everyone would be too tired to go on then.  
  
Inuyasha had silently agreed to Sango's thought as it was now apparent he was asleep. Shippo was already curling up next to Kagome's sleeping bad while Ryou had just fallen asleep about a good yard from where he had been vomiting a few moments ago.  
  
No one had to worry about if Miroku was asleep or not. The punch he had gotten from Inuyasha was enough to knock him out till tomorrow anyway. Sango was already getting ready for bed while Kilala had quickly returned from its quest to find and light some firewood. With Kilala being a pyromaniac's dream pet, lighting fires wasn't too hard.  
  
Following suit, Kagome unrolled her sleeping bag and climbed inside. She zipped the sides up to keep her and Shippo warm for the night. And just as quickly as everyone else seemed to fall asleep, so did she.  
  
But by then, it was already too late. Deep within the shadows of the night it waited. It waited for the opportune moment to strike. This being would be the misery of the white haired one until it submitted to its new master's wishes. There was no escape now.  
  
Dark shadows crawled along the ground and penetrated the light of the fire. There, in a pool near the flames was pure darkness. The dark entity shifted from its globules form into the shape of a clawed hand. It reached gown and grabbed the fire in a strange grip, choking it as if the flames were nothing more threatening then a harmless firefly.  
  
With the fire diminished, it moved from its waiting spot into the clearing that was the traveler's camping spot. It was a humanoid, garbed in the darkest of black robes, its face unseen. Dark red eyes pierced the darkness and brought fear to whoever dared to gaze into them. Now was its time to hunt.

* * *

Xero: Alright! Goodbye writer's block and hello Chapter 3 with creepy people. Just one note: I got a review 'correcting' me in that Kagome's family temple is called the Higurashi Shrine. That is true, but only in the cartoon. In the Manga it is called the Higura Shrine, just to let you guys know. Ja Ne! 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Riddles in the Dark and the First of Sesshomaru's Spies

* * *

Darkness.  
  
Yes, it is defiantly darkness that I sense.  
  
The darkness does not scare me anymore; not like it used to.  
  
It no longer scares me because if him.  
  
He broke my fear of darkness.  
  
But . . . he's not here anymore.  
  
If he's not here, where does the darkness come from?

* * *

Ryou stirred in his sleep. Little bits of the battle he just had with Miroku had over-whelmed his dreams when he had fallen asleep. He no longer needed to worry about the monk with the Millennium Ring safely back around his neck. But now a new twist was added to his already bizarre week.  
  
It had been faint, but he could defiantly sense a dark presence nearby. Not his yami, for sure. If it had been the tomb robber, the dark energy would have been more powerful. Plus, Shadow Magic would be blasting every which way. Bakura had always liked to make his presence known. But not this darkness. It was almost like this darkness was trying very hard to conceal itself.  
  
But that wasn't going to last long. Whatever was generating that darkness was about to be made known to the others. Ryou, now fully awake, reached out with a tendril of Shadow Magic to grasp hold of the other. Ryou felt a warm sensation in the back of his mind and knew he found it. From under his blue haori, the Millennium Ring glowed and danced as Ryou's own Shadow Magic forcefully increased the darkness's presence.  
  
One by one, each member of the group woke up to the shockwave of darkness. The girl, Kagome, had sprung to her feet and placed and notched an arrow on the bow she had been carrying. The other girl, whom Ryou guess had been the Sango Kagome had been talking about when he first saw her and Inuyasha at the temple, was wide awake and out of the dress she had been wearing earlier.  
  
Sango was now garbed in tight black lizard like scale armor with pink padding. A super large boomerang was slung over her back, almost as if she was ready to throw it. The thing looked like it weighed over a bazillion pounds so it was a complete mystery how someone as small as Sango could lift it.  
  
Lastly, Inuyasha had jumped down from his sleeping position in the tree and into the camp. He quickly withdrew the sword he had at his side to have it transform into a rather large Falchion Blade. Even though it was a kitana before, Ryou didn't want to question its magic at the moment.  
  
"Alright, where is it." Inuyasha almost snarled. His eyes were shifting back and forth, trying to find the source of the new dark energy. Just like the dark-matter hand that dissolve the fire, five more emerged from the surrounding forests to confront each member of the group. "Now its time for some action."  
  
Inuyasha raised his sword over his head and swung full strength in an attempt to level the dark hand. The hand moved at the last second and caught the blade of the falchion within its claws. Dark lightning pulsed through Inuyasha's body as it drained the half-demon's strength.  
  
The black cloaked figure, invisible to his pray, smirked.  
  
"Whatever these things are, they aren't going to last for long. Hirakotsu!" She whipped her boomerang over hear head and at the dark hand with amazing strength. The dark hand that was the boomerang's target warped into a shield and launched the boomerang back at Sango with twice the force.  
  
The older girl was able to dodge the volley of her weapon, but just barely. The end of the boomerang had nipped Sango's side followed by a slight ripping sound. Sango was on the ground clutching her side as a small spring of blood began to form.  
  
Kagome drew back her first arrow and let fly. Purifying energy pulsed through the arrow as it shredded several of the hands on its flight. But with every destroyed hand, two took its place.  
  
"Kagome, what's going on? What are these things?" Ryou lashed out with a bit of his own Shadow Magic at a few of the hands. The darkness that fueled them was absorbed and used in the next attack against another oncoming hand.  
  
"I don't know. Whatever they want they're determined to get it." Kagome strung another arrow and shot it into a large group of hands. The arrow stuck into the ground, vaporizing all the hands in the immediate area. "I don't know how much long I can hold them off. I'm running out of arrows."  
  
Kagome drew one of her last arrows and fired it at a rather large hand in the back of the approaching swarm. The hand disintegrated into balls of pink light, like the rest before it, before screaming.  
  
The larger hand was just and illusion to hide the black cloaked figure's position. The arrow hadn't hit him, but the purifying aura that the arrow possessed had nicked his shoulder. The figure clutched its shoulder as the purification power burned through the figure's flesh.  
  
"There!" Ryou shouted, pointing at the wounded master of the dark hands. Kagome slung another arrow and aimed for fire.  
  
There was no more time to play with the pray. The figure's eyes flashed an even deeper red as a dark hand grabbed Ryou from behind. It clenched hard, almost to the point of crushing Ryou's ribs. The hand lifted Ryou off the ground before dissolving into the dirt, carrying Ryou along with it.  
  
"Ryou!" Kagome screamed. The rest of the hands fled in a similar manner, leaving just her and the controller of the hands in the clearing. "Alright you! What have you done with Ryou?" With the figure's face now somewhat exposed, it smirked before vanishing just like the rest of the hands had.

* * *

In the grip of the dark hand, Ryou struggled to escape. His Shadow Magic seemed useless against the darkness now. Whoever was controlling the hands must have made them weak on purpose. To make them think they had the upper hand over the shadow hands. But Ryou didn't care how strong the hands were. Wave after wave of Shadow Magic had been blasted at the clawed shadow hand without effect.  
  
Within the darkness on the unfamiliar forest where the hand had taken him, a cold laugh was resonating. The very sound made chills run up and down his spine and turned the air cold. Many a time had Ryou faced a more powerful darkness, but he had always expected it. Now, with Bakura gone, Ryou had begun to forget the chill of encroaching darkness.  
  
The chilling laughter came from a figure that appeared in the clearing much like Ryou had. It was a large hulking figure of a man. Dark black hair was spiked and laced out in all directions. Eyes as dark as blood stared Ryou down to increase the already heavy feeling of dread.  
  
"So, this is the mortal whom my master as found intriguing. Didn't put up much of a fight, I wonder what my master sees in this boy." The voice was low and raspy. The hand released its grip on Ryou, causing the boy to tumble to the ground. Ryou lifted his head to look at his captor. The boy's eyes dilated in shock.  
  
"Panic." Was all Ryou could mutter. He didn't' know how nor wanted to care why, but the dark duelist from Duelist Kingdom, Pegasus's most psychotic Eliminator; Panic was standing before him. But besides the obvious similarity in looks, there were some differences. The most obvious was that this Panic was even more evil looking then the last. It seemed as though this Panic was created entirely out of dark energy.  
  
"It does not matter to me why my master wants you, child. But you are coming with me!" A dark aurora surrounded the Panic look-alike as several more shadow hands emerged from the ground and grabbed at Ryou.  
  
The Millennium Ring sprang to life, flashing gold and white. With the added power of his Millennium Item, Ryou leapt into the air a good seventeen feet and landed near the edge of the forest clearing.  
  
"I don't care who your master is, you're not going to take me without a fight." Ryou stated a bit too bravely. Not only was he dealing with an unknown foe, without his yami, Ryou couldn't unlock the full potential of the Millennium Ring to cast whoever this monster was to the Shadow Realm.  
  
"I was told to expect this so I decided to bring along a trick of my own." A dark barrio materialized around the clearing, locking Ryou in. The ground beneath them began to upturn with the rising of zombies form the ground. Rotted and dried brown skin covered muddy skeletons in clumps eye sockets with small traces of the eyes that once inhabited them stared at Ryou.  
  
The undead that crawled from the ground clung to Ryou's kimono, smothering any hope of running. For undead, the zombies were ruthlessly strong. 'How do I get free? These zombies have twice the strength of an ox. If only there were some way of destroying them, but my own shadow magic couldn't even destroy one of the hands. Come on, Ryou. Think! Wait a minute, why dose this seem so familiar?'

* * *

Flashback

* * *

Yugi was sitting in the living room of his house explaining some of the lesser known things he had faced since obtaining the Millennium Puzzle. The entire reason for Ryou to be over there was to 'listen' to Yugi rant about how every bad guy in the universe was after his puzzle.  
  
". . . and even though Shadi is good now, he forced me into a Shadow Game once to try and discover Yami's true powers. He put me through three stages of a shadow game to test the strength of my heart. The first one was an illusion of zombie-like monsters and the only way I could win was to figure out that the zombies really were. It took a while, but Yami was able to figure out that they were only our shadow."

* * *

End Flashback

* * *

'That's it! These monsters are exactly like Yugi's Shadow Game with Shadi. Now that I know the answer I can defeat these illusions.'  
  
Ryou's expression changed from one of complete and total loss of hope to a confident smirk. It started the Panic look-alike to see that Ryou had even begun to laugh! "Why are you laughing? Your about to become devoured by my undead zombies! You should be terrified."  
  
"Tell me, then." Ryou smirked. "Why should I be afraid of my own shadow?" The wind picked up, even with the barrier of darkness surrounding them. And just like the sands of Egypt, the illusion of zombies began to dissolve in the wind.  
  
Now it was the Panic look-alike's turn to look terrified and shocked. "How is that possible?! How were you able to be rid of my shadow zombies?! Only I can dismiss them."  
  
"Oh, it's quite obvious." Ryou replied. "You shadow thrive on the fear of your victims. But when I figured out their true nature, I no longer became afraid of them. With nothing left to draw strength from, your shadow were nothing more then sand in a breeze."  
  
"How dare you, you insolent mortal! I underestimated you the first time, but no this time. This time you face a monster that even darkness fears!" Panic look-alike let out a maniacal laughter. A vortex, much like a gateway to the Shadow Realm opened up behind Ryou. From out of the darkness shown two red eyes. ('Note to self: Red eyes means evil!' Ryou though.) But his was no ordinary monster. Claws like razors lanced out from the vortex, each one grabbing Ryou by an arm. The beast was a Spiral Dragon. "This is Reikon Taishokukan. And he shall be your demise, mortal!"  
  
"Reikon Taishokukan? Oh no! That name means Great Soul Eater!"  
  
"That's right, mortal. And once my shadow dragon's teeth pierce your flesh, you will no longer belong to this world!" The dragon stared down at Ryou while he tried to squirm out of the dragon's unbreakable grip. A look of hunger shown in the dragon's eyes and it wanted to feed  
  
'This dragon's gonna eat me alive if I don't figure out a way to get out of here. But the same thing also happened to Yugi in his Shadow game with Shadi. Since Yugi's answer got me out of the first one, maybe his second victory will get me out of this one! If I can only remember what he said.'

* * *

Flashback

* * *

"In the second part of our Shadow Game was when Shadi called upon a crocodile beast call Aamet." Yugi continued on his rant. "Shadi had said that it would eat my soul if I didn't solve the stage's riddle. It was something along the lines of having nine tiles with a picture on the flip side. But since there were nine, I could only guess what the ninth tile was. The only clue to figuring out what the ninth tile was that the tiles were a mirror of Aamet. And since it only had only one thing that was visible, the answer was the monster's mouth."

* * *

End Flashback

* * *

'Yugi, you better hope this works! Cause if it doesn't, you're going to have my yami to deal with.' Ryou took a deep breath in, hoping his answer would dispel the beast that was about to devour him. HE had a strong feeling it was going to work, but if it didn't, Ryou was gonna lose much more then the opportunity to go home. "Reikon Taishokukan has only one mouth!"  
  
The ever tightening grip on Ryou's arms loosened allowing blood to circulate again, but more importantly, it meant that Great Soul Eater had been dispelled just like the first illusion. Ryou could instantly feel his blood pressure drop as his heart rate turned to normal 'Well I guess going over to Yugi's house to listen to his rants wasn't a bad idea after all, not that it was my idea in the first place.'  
  
"You disgusting vermin, how are you doing it?! You dispel my first illusion and I grant you could have had the power to do so, but how is it possible that you could have dispelled my dragon, it just doesn't make sense!" Shadow Panic was almost on his knees, it had its head in its hands and its eyes wide. It was obvious that this had never happened before. If someone had been able to be rid of the first illusion, no one was supposed to get past the second.  
  
Ryou took his second to catch his breath. He dropped to his knees and sat on the grass. The plants were bit wet which meant that the sun must have been coming up about now, but with the shadow barrier around them, it still looked like night.  
  
Shadow Panic began to laugh. "I see now." This caught Ryou's attention. He looked up at the Panic-copy. "You have experience power like this before and you are not afraid of it. It seems you fear almost nothing and that's what my master sees in you, mortal. But, the thing you do fear will bring you to your knees. Seeing the fear in your eyes when e first met, you looked as if you saw someone you know. Someone who had control over the shadows because this person WAS the shadows."  
  
Like all the shadow hands and the zombies had raised from the ground, so did one last illusion. It was garbed in a kimono of the deepest reds and black. A mane of white hair was covering half the figure's face while it fell past its neck. "So, my pathetic vessel it is giving you a hard time? Have to resort to calling me to finish the job?" All life drained from Ryou's face. There was only one person in all of time who talked like that. The only person who Ryou feared. The figure lifted his head to reveal sharp, menacing eyes. The dark brown, almost black of them once again made Ryou tremble.  
  
"That's right my worthless haikari. Bakura is back!"

* * *

Xero: I got the idea for this chapter from Yu-Gi-Oh Manga Vol. 3. If I mistranslated Great Soul Eater, you can either tell me or deal with it. Ja Ne! 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: The Darkness Liberated and the Search for Ryou Begins

* * *

That darkness was all around him. It was the barrier that kept him from escaping. It was the marionette that was created to fight him with unrelenting hatred. It was the fiery sphere of energy that sent Ryou flying back. It was the darkness that he had though he grew accustomed to that was now mindset on killing him, just because Ryou fought back to survive the hellish nightmare.  
  
Even though it was only a few seconds ago, it seemed like an eternity of wishing that this was all just another bad dream. That he would once again wake up in his own room with a few bruises from his yami's latest heist of the local jewelry store or wherever and having his said yami detailing the stolen item for resale value. Oh how he had wished it would be just another illusion in his head.  
  
But life is never the way one wants it to be. Fate will relentlessly rip your dreams of a normal, peaceful life away as deliver pain and despair in its place. Yes, Fate was a force to be reckoned with and it seemed like a worthless attempt; trying to overcome Fate. It always seemed ironic to Ryou that Fate had it out for particular people.  
  
Ryou being one of those people. At first he though that his life would be peaceful once again, like it was before he was given the Millennium Ring, that Battle City had been won by Yugi and the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle, Yami and when the darkness that plagued Ryou was rid of forever. But Fate dealt a devastating blow which came in the form of a field trip.  
  
It was all because of the stupid field trip that he had tried to 'save' the Kagome girl from falling into the well, not knowing she had spent a full year becoming accustomed to the Feudal Era and learning to protect herself from the monsters and madmen that inhabited it.  
  
But Fate had been ready to strike again. Whoever the employer of the Shadow Magic user was had wanted Ryou, most likely for some kind of trophy of even as another of countless servants. And now, with Ryou's worst fear coming to life, the Panic-look-alike just smirked as another fiery ball of Shadow Magic struck home, hitting Ryou square in the chest, and having his Bakura marionette charge up another.  
  
Ryou lay on the ground at the base of a nearby tree. His breaths were shallow and his lungs were heavy, possible filled with his spilt blood. Small flows of blood were present at almost all openings in his being. His whole body was filled with the fiery burning of pain. He was now at the mercy of his darker half as his blood was mixed with tears.  
  
"Bakura. . .why?" It was a short breath, almost all Ryou could afford in his condition.  
  
"Isn't it obvious you fool? By getting rid of you, your vessel will be without a soul and mine of the taking. I will no longer have to worry about you getting in the way with your notions of friendship and what not.  
  
With Yugi and his friends still believing I'm gone, it will be easy to take them out one by one. And not only will I be rid of them, Yugi's Millennium Puzzle will be mine! Just like Fate destined it." 'Bakura' laughed.  
  
"Fate?!" Ryou asked, his voice was filled with malice and anger. "What do. .-you know about . . Fate?! You just. . go around hurting people. . for your own fun! Not to mention. . MY FRIENDS!" The pain lo longer meant anything for Ryou. He stood up, completely oblivious to the warning pains sent from all over his body. An aura of purple mist resonated from within him as several of his own wounds were beginning to heal themselves.  
  
"Ever since you showed up, you've done nothing but destroy the lives of the people who try to be my friends; who try to help me in life. And now, just when I think I've found friends who can be there for me and I can be there for them, you plan on killing them?!"  
  
The Panic-look-alike began to look a bit discouraged. It had now seemed to have been a bad idea for the marionette to insult the boy's friends. With the sudden explosion of anger and sorrow, he could sense Ryou's power exceeding to levels beyond his own.  
  
"And besides," Ryou continued. "You of all people should know what happens to you if I die."  
  
"What are you talking about?" The Bakura fake questioned "Of course I know what will happen, your body will be left without a soul and free for the taking!"  
  
"If you really are Bakura you should remember the duel you had with Yugi and Yami at Duelist Kingdom!"

* * *

Flashback

* * *

Bakura sneered as the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle had reused his Monster Reborn card to bring back the Flame Swordsman, with Joey's soul trapped with in it. Joey had been rescued and now the effect of the Electric Lizard was no longer in effect and the Dark Magician, the card with Yugi's soul within it, was free to attack again. There where enough good cards within his hand to take out some of Yugi's friends, but there was one play in particular that he knew would automatically win him the duel.  
  
Bakura had drawn the Change of Heart card, the one he would use to defeat Yugi and claim the Millennium Puzzle as his own.  
  
"NO!" Yugi shouted in protest. "I refuse."  
  
"You won't have a choice. For once I play the Change of Heart card, I will use you to destroy your friends!" Bakura had snapped back.  
  
"Leave the young one out of this!" Came a shout from the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle.  
  
"Why should I? By simply destroying him I destroy you as well! If you'd die to protect him, then protect him from this!"

* * *

End Flashback

* * *

The marionette Bakura had his eyes wide open in shock. And that was the perfect opening for Ryou. The up side to being blasted into the tree was the fallen branches. Ryou grasped one in his left hand and dashed towards the false Bakura. Now holding the branch in both hands, Ryou put all him might into the single swing. The branch flew threw the air and smashed broad side into the marionette Bakura's stomach.  
  
Ryou quickly withdrew the branch, the Millennium Ring alight with unbridled rage and boundless confidence, and brought it down on the back of Bakura's head. The branch snapped as the false yami was sent clear across the battlefield from the force of the blow. But the assault didn't stop there. Black fire burned in Ryou's hand and the Millennium Ring danced, Shadow Magic coursing through it.  
  
A sphere of Shadow Magic launched from Ryou's hand collided where the fake Bakura. A whirlwind of darkness burned the area, ripping the memory out of this dimension. The ground was scorched with burn marks whilst nearby plants were faintly burning.  
  
A small speck of water fell on Ryou's head. Snapping out of his trancelike state from staring at the scars of shadow magic, he looked up. A small thicket of clouds covered the sky, causing a small sprinkle of rain to fall. It had been a nice change from the constant darkness of the shadow barrio. Ryou closed his eyes as a few drops fell on his face.  
  
His eyes quickly bolted open and a frantic search of the area. The only way the rain could have hit him was if the shadow barrier had been dropped, meaning the Panic look-alike was getting away. Black fire burned around Ryou's hands again, but this time, his eyes went a shade of red.  
  
A few yards behind him in the forest, a pillar of black wind and fire sprang into the sky, followed by the final scream of Lord Sesshomaru's Shadow Spy.

* * *

"I don't give a dam about whom the hell that kid is, I'm not going after him! The bastard brought those stupid hands to us, its probably best that they take him away and leave us alone so we can do more important things like try and find more jewel shards!"  
  
"Inuyasha you arrogant, self-centered jerk! How dare you talk that way about Ryou!"  
  
"Why should you care how I talk about him? You don't even know him!"  
  
"It doesn't matter! He's lost somewhere in Japan and we got to help him or else who know what could happen! He could turn out to potentially be one of the most power people in the entire world in my time and if he dies, MY WORLD IS SCREWED! So were gunna go and find him!"  
  
"Make me, ya damn wench!"  
  
"FINE!"  
  
"Here it comes" Miroku sighed.  
  
"SIT, SIT, SIT, SIT, SIT!"  
  
Inuyasha and Kagome had been at it again, performing another one of their daily arguments which ended up with Kagome sitting Inuyasha. Miroku, Sango, and Shippo just looked on at the fuming girl and the newly formed, smoldering Inuyasha-sized crater.  
  
"What's our count for today?" Sango asked.  
  
Miroku dipped a hand into one of his many robe pockets and pulled out a slip of paper and an automatic writing wand Kagome had given him for his birthday. A few more marks were made and a total count of bunches were tallied. "That's seventeen for this week. I have a feeling they'll be at twenty five by the end of it."  
  
"You're on." Sango replied. "I have my bet on thirty."  
  
"I'll bet a paralysis scroll on forty." Shippo chimed in.  
  
Miroku pulled another item out of his robe pockets. This one was a small box make of chestnut and iron. Miroku placed the bets in the box and locked it with the key. "Kilala, if you please." The small pyromaniac-favorite cat meowed, taking the key and hid it somewhere in its large pelt.  
  
"So, Inuyasha. Have you changed your mind on whether or not you want to go rescue Ryou?" Kagome asked politely considering their previous argument.  
  
Inuyasha picked himself up from the crater, followed by sever loud snaps which most likely came from his back popping back into place. "What the hell was that about?"  
  
"No? SIT!"  
  
"Why you-!"  
  
"SIT!"  
  
"I'm gunna-!"  
  
"SIT!"  
  
"FINE! You damn wench, I'll look for the damn kid, just no more sit commands!"  
  
"That's the spirit, Inuyasha!" Stated Kagome in an all too chipper and clearly fake attitude. "Oh, and before I forget, SIT!" Inuyasha's face smacked against the ground again, this time making a nice three foot hole. "That's for calling me a wench."  
  
"Twenty one, Miroku. At this rate it looks like I'll be taking this week's pot. Wouldn't you say?" Sango boasted.  
  
"Though it does seem that way," Miroku agreed. "We should count you the winner yet. Remember, Shippo has his bet at forty. If these two stay in a bad mood, it's almost likely he could win."  
  
"What are you two talking about?!" An outburst coming from both Kagome and Inuyasha. Sango, Miroku, and Shippo sweat dropped.  
  
"Nothing, Kagome. In fact, I was just about t5o ask Sango if she would bear my-" WHAP!  
  
The Hirakotsu rested softly back on Sango's shoulder after giving Miroku a knockout smack to the head. "Lecher." Was all she muttered before throwing the monk's body on the back of the transformed Saber Tooth Tiger-like Kilala, before mounting on herself.  
  
Neither Kagome nor Inuyasha wanted to get in the way of Sango after she knocked out Miroku because of one of his stunts. Kagome climbed on behind Sango as the giant cat leapt into the sky, flying on flames that covered the neko youkai's feet and two tails. Inuyasha, being the energetic demon that he was, followed on foot.

* * *

Xero: Wow. I though I got rid of the writers block, and I probably did, but I hope you liked the fifth chapter. I hope you know by now I'm not a very good fight scene writer. Ja Ne! 


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: The silent symphony of the rain.

* * *

The rain fell just as it had for the past three days. The blessing of a new beginning washed away the scars of battle from many a war zone during the Feudal Era and brought peace and tranquility to a restless soul. Such a dilemma was Ryou Bakura in. Ever since becoming stranded in the past, he had proclaimed it his fault that he misjudged Kagome and her knowledge of the world on the other side of the well.

The rain had begun to cleanse him after the battle with the shadow puppeteer. Ryou had wandered in the rain for most of a day before coming onto a small castle atop a hill. A wealthy noble had position over the land and had offered him shelter till the rains had passed and his obvious emotional scars had healed. Ryou no longer felt the emotional pain he once felt, but the rain continued.

It seemed that such a rain was common in the area where he was staying and that if the rains lasted a day or so longer, most of the area around the castle would be flooded. With the rain continuing to fall, a thought had wondered into Ryou's perpetual chains of thought. That Inuyasha was said to be a powerful Dog demon, and a famous one at that. Famous enough that the noble and his children seemed to be fans of Inuyasha's honorable deeds towards normal everyday people.

But that was beside the point. What bothers Ryou the most was, if Kagome, Inuyasha, and the others in their group had decided to try and rescue him, Ryou's scent would be drown-out by the rain. How would they be able to find him?

Another thing that bothered him, though not as much, was that one of the noble's daughters, a small, black haired girl not even seven years old was quite the artist. She had continuously claimed that Ryou had looked like a powerful demon named Sesshomaru that ruled over the entire western portion of Japan. One morning, that same small girl was boasting to her siblings how good an artist she was, that she had given Ryou a face-paint in the shape of a perfect crescent moon.

Ryou wouldn't have minded it much if the noble had apologized before saying that the paint his daughter used was permanent. So, for the third day running, Ryou stared out from his room at the falling rain with a crescent moon painted to his forehead.

As Ryou sat in his spaced out stare into the rain, a small yet funny idea had crossed him. He wished he still had his wrist watch that fell out of the kimono when he fought with Miroku in order to get his Millennium Ring back into his hands. If he had it, he could see what time it was in the real world and know what classes he was missing back at Domino High. That small thought brought on another. His friends.

Ryou had been gone about four days now and he bet his friends would be worried sick about where he had gone. Mostly that Miho Nosaka girl a.k.a Ribbon, the class librarian. That girl had fallen head over heals for him in an obsessive way ever since Ryou transferred to Domino High from his original private school in England. Ryou had been used to the idea of having to wear a uniform, but he liked it much better when practically none of the students were rich, snobbish brats.

A small knock at Ryou's bedroom door took him out of his chain of thought. The doors were made of rice paper and it was easy to see who was on the other side. Shizuka was the third daughter of the noble of the castle and the eldest of all the six children. Though she looked stunning with her long black, silky hair loose and flowing, she normally kept it restricted to a bun. Bright green eyes decorated her face and shone against her semi-dark skin. She wore a kimono of the brightest and palest purples, her yukata decorated with the branches and fruits of a cherry blossom.

Although she would never put much thought towards it, she was very beautiful. Shizuka slowly opened Ryou's bedroom door and slid it closed just as quietly.

"Shizuka, your father is hosting a very important banquet with his fellow lords, right? Why aren't you enjoying yourself at the party?" Ryou asked, fingering one of the points on the Millennium Ring.

"My father hosts no such banquet. He only called it such to masque its true purpose." Shizuka had a distraught look on her face and confirmed it with a heavy sigh. "My father and the other lords are worried. Lord Sesshomaru, ruler of the western land, you have heard his name many times. The meeting of the other lords and nobles is about him."

Ryou was a bit confused with what was just told to him. Sesshomaru was supposed to be a powerful dog demon, able to protect and destroy, so why were these people worried? "Why's that? What's wrong with Sesshomaru?"

Shizuka looked shocked at his words before jumping to cover his mouth with her hand. "Please do not speak his name without a proper title, it is said his spies are everywhere, looking for anyone who might revolt against him." She removed her hand from his mouth.

"It is said that Lord Sesshomaru is an extravagant collector and will go to any lengths to get what he wants. Many times he has gone on trips to add precious pieces of art or weapons to his collections. It is said that he has his eye set on a powerful demon sword, but the current owner has yet to give it up. A year ago, after returning from trying to retrieve the weapon, he had lost his left arm."

"Most didn't believe it, that a powerful demon such as Lord Sesshomaru could get hurt; much less gets his arm cut off. But when such a rumor had been confirmed, the other lords and nobles became worried. If one day he set out to collect new piece for any of his collections, what would happen if he were to be heavily wounded, or even killed? Lord Sesshomaru is the only one who stands between the western lands and the ruthless and evil lords of the other three lands."

"Lord Sesshomaru is our protector and what my father and the other lords are trying to do is help Lord Sesshomaru produce an heir. If an heir to the western lands came into being, the other lords would not dare to try and invade our lands."

Ryou just let soak in what he was told. During Shizuka's talk she had moved herself over near Ryou's spot at the window, and was now leaning into his chest, looking like she was on the verge of tears. So the meeting was Shizuka's father and the other nobles trying to play matchmaker with Lord Sesshomaru?

Ryou could remember how mad Tea got with Anna Mhigo from Class C, playing matchmaker and trying to pair her with Tristan. Ryou wouldn't doubt for a second that Lord Sesshomaru getting mad wasn't going to be pretty.

"When I first met you," Shizuka began again. "Anzu was the one who noticed that you looked much like Lord Sesshomaru, but I was the once who sensed you were a strong person. Your many scars could only have come from a harsh battle," She lifted up Ryou's sleeve, revealing his arm growing in mussel mass and a dark slash running down from his shoulder. "It was then that an idea had come to mind."

She gazed into Ryou's eyes, tears beginning to form showing stress and desperation. "You are truly powerful and wither or not you are truly a demon, I do not care. I only ask that you take on the title of Lord Sesshomaru's heir. Perhaps your presence would make Lord Sesshomaru acknowledge that fact that our lands need a true heir. I ask you think in the hopes that you may help protect not just our lands but it people and my family.

Shizuka's face was buried in Ryou's chest, small sobs escaping from her lips. "I understand your proposition and have acknowledged that your intentions are pure and come from a worried heart. I shall do my best, and maybe you're right. Maybe Lord Sesshomaru will come to understand your land's need for an heir. I'll do the very best that I can."

* * *

Shizuka walked down the halls of the mansion, tears still in here eyes as she neared the banquet area where her father and the other nobles were meeting. She reached behind hear head, pulling out a small iron pin, letting her hair drop down.

"There is a maiden in my village that is a beauty beyond beauty, perhaps who could be of interest to Lord Sesshomaru." A noble offered.

"Lord Sesshomaru would have no such things. It is common knowledge that he despises the thought of a half-breed son." Another countered.

Shizuka just laughed, which brought the attention of all the nobles in the dinning area. "My daughter, this is such a serious matter, why do you laugh?" Shizuka's father asked.

"We no longer need to worry about such things. Lord Sesshomaru has an heir," This caused the nobles to gasp. "And his name is Ryou Bakura."

* * *

The lunch bell rang at Domino High, causing the cafeteria doors to open with loud bangs as waves of high school students filed in. The jocks began to group at their usual table, the student counsel sat at their usual table talking about the Halloween Festival and having the lunch room's them being Café-terror-ea, and last, Yugi and his friends grouped at their usual table with the addition of someone unexpected.

"So Marik, how do you like your first day at Domino High?" Joey, being the not so smart guy that he is, burst out.

"Listen you ninny." Marik growled between clenched teeth. "The only reason I'm here is to make sure Ishizu doesn't touch any of my bank accounts, especially the one in Europe. I hate this school and if I had it my way, the next teacher who spoke the word: quadrangle would be sent to the Shadow Realm." Mari's left eye twitched.

"Ya know," Yugi butted in. "That's exactly what Ryou said on his first day here."

"Speaking of the psycho possessed white haired guy, where is he?" Marik calmly asked. "Normally he hands out with you dopes but I haven't seen him for like three days."

"Four." Tea corrected. "His field trip to that Higura Shine was four days ago and he never returned from it. The police have had a search warrant at the shrine the first day we went missing, but since he wasn't there, Ryou's been filed with all the other mission people in Domino." Tea just stared out the window of the cafeteria, a distant look in here eyes as she half ate a French fry. Tea seemed to be the one who suffered from Ryou going missing the most.

Maybe it was because she cared for him like a little brother, or because she helped house his soul after Battle City. But it was obvious that she cried about the loss every night and her condition wasn't helped any by her late night searches. Ever since Ryou went missing, Tea would take her car out late at night, following over the exact same route the bus took.

While Tea took it like a knife to the heart, the others weren't so hurt. Yugi, Tristan, Joey, and even Duke and Serenity who barely knew him had taken it as the loss of a good friend. All the while, Seto, being the stuck up businessman that he was, took it as a loss of a formidable duelist; nothing more, nothing less.

* * *

By the end of the day, Tea's mood had not changed. She walked the halls of Domino, getting her shoes out of her locker with her head hanging low. And it broke Yugi's heart to see his best friend since elementary school suffer like this.

/Yami?/ Yugi asked through his mind link with the spirit of the Pharaoh that resided within the Millennium Puzzle.

What troubles you?The spirit asked back.

/Tea has been acting really depressed lately about Ryou's disappearance, you think you can talk to her? She usually calms down when she talks to you./

I could try.

A warm feeling fell over Tea and she began heading to the exit of Domino High. She turned her attention from the floor to Yami, who now stood next to her. "Here." He simply said. His school jacket now rested on her shoulders. "There is no need to be sad over Ryou's disappearance. Even I take the loss heavily."

"I'm not crying over him." Tea protested, and obviously lying. "I'm crying because it's raining. Lots of people cry when it rains."

"In Ancient Egypt we believed that a god watched over each of the sacred tasks of nature, like the fall of rain. Perhaps it rains because you are sad over your loss." Yami sighed. "I can not guarantee that any of us will ever see Ryou again. But I do believe that wherever Ryou is he is safe. Safer that what he faced here with the Shadow Games and all. All we can do now is hope and pray. And you never know. Maybe one day your prayer will be answered and he will return to us."

A single tear fell from Tea's eyes. She managed to mutter the words: "Thank you", before bursting into tears. The rain falling on Domino City falling harder then before.

* * *

Xero: Wow. I knew I wanted to do something different with this chapter and I could never think up anything good. I'm sorry if it was kinda slow, but I bet someone out there was wondering when the whole Ryou-The Son of Sesshomaru was going to happen. Well, here it is. Also, when school starts, I might not be able to update for a while. Just FYI. Ja Ne!


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